Ranger Games: A Story of Soldiers, Family and an Inexplicable Crime

Ranger Games: A Story of Soldiers, Family and an Inexplicable Crime
Ben Blum

A tense and layered true-crime story about an all-American soldier boy turned bank robberAlex Blum was a clean-cut all-American kid with one unshakeable goal in life: to serve his country in the military. He was accepted into the elite Rangers regiment, but on the first day of his leave before deployment to Iraq, Alex got into his car with two fellow soldiers and two strangers, drove to a local bank in Tacoma, and committed armed robbery.The Blum family was devastated and mystified. How could he have done such a thing?Alex’s attorney presented a defence based on the theory that trainee Rangers are indoctrinated on a level akin to the brainwashing in an extreme religious cult, and Alex insisted that he had believed the robbery was just another exercise in the famously daunting Ranger program. But Luke Elliot Sommer, the charismatic soldier behind the robbery, maintained that Alex knew exactly what he was doing, and had, in fact, planned it all with him.Who was lying? What had happened to Alex during those gruelling months of training? How accountable was he?

Copyright (#ulink_eb575eee-4f53-5abf-834d-6b292eb0797b)

4th Estate

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.4thEstate.co.uk (http://www.4thEstate.co.uk)

First published in Great Britain by 4th Estate in 2017

First published in the United States by Doubleday,

an imprint of Penguin Random House, in 2017

Copyright © Ben Blum, 2017

Ben Blum asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books

Source ISBN: 9780007554584

Ebook Edition © 2017 ISBN: 9780007554591

Version: 2017-07-24

Dedication (#ulink_db55312c-0fd6-57e1-b46f-cb0deae366a0)

FOR OMA

THE RANGER CREED

Recognizing that I volunteered as a Ranger, fully knowing the hazards of my chosen profession, I will always endeavor to uphold the prestige, honor, and high esprit de corps of the Rangers.

Acknowledging the fact that a Ranger is a more elite Soldier who arrives at the cutting edge of battle by land, sea, or air, I accept the fact that as a Ranger my country expects me to move further, faster, and fight harder than any other Soldier.

Never shall I fail my comrades. I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong, and morally straight and I will shoulder more than my share of the task whatever it may be, one hundred percent and then some.

Gallantly will I show the world that I am a specially selected and well-trained Soldier. My courtesy to superior officers, neatness of dress, and care of equipment shall set the example for others to follow.

Energetically will I meet the enemies of my country. I shall defeat them on the field of battle for I am better trained and will fight with all my might. Surrender is not a Ranger word. I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy and under no circumstances will I ever embarrass my country.

Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to fight on to the Ranger objective and complete the mission though I be the lone survivor.

RANGERS LEAD THE WAY!

Contents

Cover (#u9393eae7-9acc-55e3-abc8-201f7f499dbb)

Title Page (#u0a133b4c-2f26-5eef-80d1-57309510044a)

Copyright (#u13033405-b998-5333-b58c-f0f96d45b378)

Dedication (#u7431c92a-c5f8-508f-8799-f3c236731df8)

Prologue (#uaef7aeaa-304f-5af2-a36b-4576bc976e63)

BOOK 1 (#uacb83c33-3b9a-5a22-b18d-c7b6076e2d8c)THE GOLEM OF TACOMA (#uacb83c33-3b9a-5a22-b18d-c7b6076e2d8c)

Chapter 1: Sort of a Happy/Sad Deal (#u084b5787-50d5-594a-b7f6-0ae0a38c170e)

Chapter 2: Basic (#u23fb9a45-0936-5126-a2dc-5b2bfeaafead)

Chapter 3: Amurican Bank Robber (#u6aa349ae-d468-5312-9d63-520b860ada54)

Chapter 4: One Fine Day at Battalion (#ub4d26dd2-abff-57c5-bee8-73644bb57899)

Chapter 5: Yes, Specialist Sommer (#u445db5db-7f08-54de-8eb3-cf79f0740488)

Chapter 6: Those Who Are Versed in the Sciences (#uec865585-b237-5e16-b3b4-d43e536f76ef)

Chapter 7: Something You Would See Out of a Movie (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 8: Federal Vacation (#litres_trial_promo)

BOOK 2 (#litres_trial_promo)THE PRODIGY OF PEACHLAND (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9: Soldier (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10: Interrogation (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 11: Freedom Fighter (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 12: The Fourth Man (#litres_trial_promo)

BOOK 3 (#litres_trial_promo)THE GOOD PERSON (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 13: The B-Word (#litres_trial_promo)